The a/c drain is clogged. That rubber tube that sticks out of the firewall. There is a pan under the coil to catch the condensate. The fan blows air thru the coil.

 

Thanks for the reply Donbrew.

Do you have any idea how I can verify if the rubber tube (more like hard plastic in my case actually) is actually connected internally, or how I might clean it from the inside? I dug around in there real good from the outside with that plastic rope and got nothing. I'd love to see an obvious rubber hose coming through the firewall and attaching to the pan, but there's no way it would be that easy.


How does it attach to the pan on the inside? All I see on the inside, aside from the Delphi blower, is a big molded gigantic hunk of plastic encasing everything.

 

Compressed air from the outside.

 

Thanks again donbrew.

Can someone explain more about how the tube that passes through the firewall connects to the stuff that collects the water before it gets to that tube?

I'll be hitting the library in a few days to look at some service books and hopefully find a helpful exploded view that explains it.

 

In simple terms. The AC unit is encased in a "box" under the dash. The bottom part of the "box" is the drip pan for the moisture to collect in. The drain tube attaches at the lowest point of the box.
It works similar to a home HVAC unit in the way it drains off condensation water.

 

I have the same issue.... Leak that completely saturates the floor on passenger side, I can hear the same sloshing sound... Today a/c went out and temperature gauges out....any ideas?

 

The water leak and the issue with the a/c and temp gauges dying are totally separate issues.

For the a/c and temperature gauges - replace the thermostat. When the thermostat jams open due to the gasket around the movable valve deteriorating, the engine is slow to warm up. When it is slow to warm up, the computer blanks out the gauges, and makes the a/c inoperative. Sometimes (but not always) the check engine light will come on. The problem will likely clear if you drive somewhere, and let it sit turned off - when restarted the gauges may work along with the a/c (all dependant on how quickly it warms up).

Replace the thermostat.

For the warer leak, read the above entries in this thread. You did not mention what year your car is, but if it is a 2006 or 2007, check the buytl patch under the cowl which is prone to leaking (use the search tool and look for buytl patch for lots of info on it if needed).

 

Following up here for everyone's benefit...

I think I finally got it - it'e been about 3 weeks of no problems, and it has been hot and humid here the whole time, so AC has been on non-stop.

I just did what everyone said. There was no visible clog or debris in that tube, and I had to keep going back several times with the can of compressed air and the little red straw on the end. After clearing the same clog 4x in a row, I looked into getting at it properly from the other direction. That is not happening.
The fifth time I cleared it with the air can seems to have taken care of it.

 

I just had this issue, here is my solution. A 1" PVC elbow fits really tight into the end of the hose for my wet/dry shop vac. Jack the passenger side up, put a jack stand under the car, turn on the shop vac, and press that elbow tight up against the firewall.

By this method, you're not just pushing the clog back into the drain pan where it can become clogged again. You're actually removing the clog.

 

Great tip, RJ ! Remove the clog !